(Copyright in All Countries.)
How Germany "Kills The Goose"
Here, indeed, is the core of the
competitors in conquest as Her food supplics depleted by ↑ But France's agriculture, though else as far as Russia), consume soon as expediency fails to years of sacrifice to arms-making, make her self-supporting in food some 130,000,000 tons of cereals a
great, was not great enough to either as food or as feet'ng-stuffs, whole problem. The resources of dictate otherwise. What and further threatened by the supplies, so that France, too, is a year. Or this, about one-tenth is Europe are enough to feed the liability and not an asset, to Ger- normally imported from cutside German people. They may be many's food economy.
transfer of agricultural workers Hitler is starting in Ru- to the army, Germany began the mania looks for all the war in no condition to stand the world like a picket fence pressure of the British blockade. thrown across the path of Stalin's ambitions and ex- pansion plans.
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But she has added to this a self- blockade that hits the German Where Germany Stands people and other European na- tions as well.
But In doing so che “killed the goose": the put an end to the capacity of those countries to tand her the great supplies she had always received from them.
"The Rumanian oil
By over-running Norway, Den- fields constitute no enor-mark, Holland and Belgium, Ger- mous factor in world oil many acquired big stocks of food supply, but their produc- for immediate use. tion is big from the point of view of Germany, un- der prevailing conditions of distress in connection with fueling of the war machine. All indications are that the oil supply forthcoming from Russia is disappointing. Also the
For all these countries' de- pended on Imported feeding- ¿tuffo for their livestock and on Imported fertiliser for their agriculture.
Europe.
It is certainly not unreasonable to suggest that European produc- tion this year will be 25 per cent. below normal. In South-Eastern
Europe, the main granary, the har
vest is expected to be at least 25
will
Each extension of Germany's per cent down. That of Germany fall by hardly less. It was military domination has led to a estimated that the French harvest corresponding decline of food would be reduced by some 25 per cent., even before German occupa- tion.
power.
How difficult is Germany's situation now? How far have the
By R.W.B. Clarke
are
éhough, too, for the Italians, who will no doubt be allowed to have what the Germans do not need,
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Starve The Conquered:
But the price of this will be the starvation of the people in the oc- cupled territories. The 42,000,000 French
men and Women, the With non-European imports the 13,000,000 Scandinavians will:
17,000,000 Dutch and Belgians, and excluded, the current
supply be the sufferers, alongside the available for consumption will
25,000,000 Poles. thus be reduced by about one- third. This is a reasonable minimum reduction; it may con- ceivably be more, perhaps as
much as one-half.
On
the
Their food supplies are literal- ly being ravaged by the Germans. The more they produce the more will be stolen for the German
other hand, there granaries. certainly war rtservės of
grain which in the aggre- If they succeed in buying sup- gate are substantial. But these plics from abroad, those supplies.
British airmen evidently even feed themselves, let alone to starvation?
Without imports they cannot Naz's gone down the slippery slope are needed both to make good the too will be swept into the German have scored numerous Germany. And now that they are enemy-occupied territory, they
ing.
hits on Germany's syn-cannot be allowed to import in Will these food difficulties in thetic oil plants, making order to keep Germany's war go-taching a situations steina ty a similar to the Rumanian supply all
that of the summer of 1918, or the more vital, too impor Germans acquired certain
By over-running France, the even of Central Europe in the ap- food palling years which followed the tant for the neglect of any stocks and a great agricultural last, war? detail of protection and country. control.
control.
shortage of bread grains, and to maw. make good the shortage of animal feeding-stuffs to maintain the sup- ply of meat and fats. Such re- serves, therefore, cannot suffice for though the experience of Poland more than a limited period.
It is simple enough to see the qualitative process working out, to. say that the food situation will be
than it was in the winter of 1939-are
worse in the winter of 1940-41
resources to the righting of food
conquest?
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Poor Food
save
They may be allowed enough to
them from starvation-al-..
throws doubt even on that,
But they will assuredly be al- lowed no more than the minis mum. That lá certain and gs? -eured; we have enough experi
ence of Nazi" policy in occupied territories to determina It.
The Danubian food sup- answer is that Stalin can
The current rations in Germany ply is in much the same afford to wait as long as 40. But how much worse will it dietetie quality depends to a large ter" policy reach its apotheosis, just adequate, but their So we ste the "Guns before But- general category as the he has reason to believe be? Will it be so bad that it will in extent upon the output of fruit and As a direct consequence of the de-
fact force the Nazi Government to vegetables, the distribution oil supply, subject to the Hitler may be easier to modify its programme of world which is threatened by transport Government, Germany has reach- of liberate polley of the German same pressure as to urgent fight later on than he domination, and hurriedly devote difficulties, need and danger of loss of would be if challenged supply instead of consolidation of
outright now.
This is another applica- Will it be so bad that it even Since the Balkan field tion of the theory that endangers the existence of the is vitally important in the the starting of to-mor- Nazi Government itself? Soviet scheme as well as row's war depends on the in the Nazi net-work one outcome of to-day's war might inquire why Stalina point that finds appli- stands by and allows Hit-| cation on the various ler's aggression to go un- fronts in Europe as well Continent (excluding Britain, of ever, only at the expence of the repaired in one year challenged. The simple as in Asia.
ed a situation. In which the Gers- The dict, furthermore, is dull locustlike looting of the occupied
man people can be fed only by n', and unvaried, and very unpalat-territories, and by an exhaustion able, especially at a time when the of Germany's own stocks. This in German people are expecting its
turn will not only threaten dividend from victory. However, something very near starvation for the German people will be able to the millions of men and women in eat the stocks, looted from the oc- the defcated countries, but it also Hitler's conquests have gone harvest is a complete failure, the those nations'
cupled territories. Unless the means the virtual destruction of so far that the situation must German food supply during the
long-term foodt be examined from a European next twelve months may not be
potential. point of view.
Intolerably had..
The nations of the European
course, but including everything
The ravages of war followed by It will be maintained, how the ravages of loating cannot-be.
or even in people of occupied territories. Ifive punts. -
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